Newbury College Hires New Women's Lacrosse Coach

The athletic department at Newbury College has a new women’s lacrosse head coach who may also help with the addition of a future field hockey team, Annie O’Byrne.

While she completed her bachelor’s degree at Mount Holyoke, O’Byrne was also a member of the college’s field hockey team.The coaching and playing experience O’Byrne has in field hockey might also be of interest to Newbury College. Newbury is rapidly growing its athletic and Harper said, “As we look to the future of the program, we may be adding a sport like field hockey.” Most recently they have added a men’s lacrosse team and golf team that will begin competition in the 2018-19 season.

O’Byrne comes to Newbury after spending time coaching both field hockey and lacrosse and Wheelock College. She had been named the head lacrosse coach at Wheelock last year after the departure of the previous head coach, according to Newbury athletic director Jonathan Harper. Additionally, she had worked with the Wheelock field hockey team as an assistant coach. O’Byrne said that she is excited to work with the young team, only in their second year of existence.

O’Byrne joins the Newbury staff as a part-time member, and has a full-time job outside of coaching at Newbury. Harper notes that this can come with a particular set of challenges like keeping in communication with the team to make sure they feel as though they receive the proper attention. According to O’Byrne, she arrives on campus at 5:30 pm on weekdays, and she then takes the team to practice. Keely Molloy, one of the lacrosse team captains, adds that van rides to and from practice have become important because they allow for O’Byrne and the team to get to know each other better. Outside of that, much of the communication between coach and team happens via text or email.

Challenges aside, Harper feels as though she is an excellent fit at Newbury because, “she is a no-nonsense coach that a new program needs,” similarly Molloy refers to her as “down to the point”. Molloy also details her individualized approach to coaching- “she takes the time to help each person and make sure they have an understanding instead of giving one overall explanation.”